ACE File

What are ACE files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening an ACE file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your ACE files.

What is an ACE file?

ACE files have multiple uses, and WinAce Compressed Archive is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

WinAce Compressed Archive

Files that contain the .ace file extension are archive files that have been compressed using the WinAce file archiving utility.

Computer users utilize a file archiving program to combine a large batch of files into a single smaller file. WinAce was a program that could do this, utilizing a proprietary compression algorithm. This proprietary algorithm offered faster compression speeds and a higher compression ratio than many other archiving applications on the market. This allowed the WinAce user to create smaller file archives, saving space on the user's hard drive.

WinAce has been discontinued.

How to open ACE files

We have identified two ACE openers that are compatible with this specific type of ACE file.

Programs that open WinAce Compressed Archive files

Last updated: February 24, 2023

All known file formats using extension .ACE

While WinAce Compressed Archive is a popular type of ACE-file, we know of 2 different uses of the .ACE file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

Jupiter Ace snapshot

Another type of .ace file is Jupiter ACE memory dump files. The Jupiter ACE was a British home computer of the 1980s, marketed by a company named Jupiter Cantab.

You will likely only come across this type of ACE file if you have an interest in legacy computer systems and work with software preservation.

You usually do not need to edit or view these files, as they only contain information usable by the software program that uses them.

Help us help others

File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about ACE file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.